I am intending to expand my staging yard using the Peco 3 way turnouts, one at the entrance and one at the exit. There are electrical blocks with occupancy detectors (BD4s) for all tracks into and out of the yard as well as the 3 blocks inside the yard. I am not familiar with Peco products and am not sure which is the correct electrical configuration I want. Thanks.
The current Peco selection offers a DCC Friendly 'Insulfrog' turnout. The 'Electrofrog' turnout has an all metal frog. Peco announced at the NMRA-NTS that they were going to produce a DCC version of the Electrofrog turnout with metal stras under the ties that can be cut to make it 'DCC Friendly' as well. Some folk just like the all metal frog of the Electrofrog turnouts, and put up with the extra wiring that is sometimes needed.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, the below links should give you a better idea of what is involved. Save the links in Favorites.
http://www.loystoys.com/peco/about-electrofrog.html
http://www.loystoys.com/peco/about-insulfrog.html
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
mrnimble,
I use Fast Tracks turnouts on my layout and use Caboose Industries 220S ground throws to change the polarity. I like the live frogs because I've never had a problems with any of my small switchers (e.g. 0-8-0, HH600, SW1, etc.) stalling on them. It's a little extra work but worth it for me.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I have also been a fan of all metal, (all rail), isolated, electrically switched, frogs for DCC. Real railroads don't have solid plastic frogs or rail frogs that are filled with plastic. Fast tracks lets you do all sorts of stuff to customize your switch as you build it!
Richard
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
If the wheels and turnouts are kept in gage, it doesn't really matter that much. The electrofrog or insulfrog are both power routing. We use both.
Thanks, guys. I really appreciate all the good advice and tips. I have some other questions about exactly what to order to get their switch machines to work with the 3-way turnout, but that's a ?? for another forum. Thanks again.
Get the Peco with the twin coil machine. Our club did that of one three way.
Operate the twin coils with the Circuitron Snapper. Not prototypical operation but it works for our club.
Powered frogs in our world means Hex Frog Juicers. We use them on Atlas turnouts, and I'm not familiar with Peco ones, but the Juicers are magically easy to wire and use with the Atlas ones. I hope they can be used on the Peco ones, too. If not, please ignore me.
I use Peco electrofrog turnouts on my DCC layout. Follow the two rules on page 30 of "Easy Model Railroad Wiring", second edition by Andy Sperandeo. There is no special wiring required or modifications to the turnout itself. Rule #1 is: Gap both rails between turnouts located frog to frog. Rule #2 is: Feed power from the point ends of the turnouts. I have had no stalling of my locos or short circuits with this system. There is a wealth of information for other special situations in that book too.
I've used and had success with Micro Engineering turnouts with metal frogs and the associated wiring on my DCC layout. Around half of my turnouts are manually operated with polarity switching on my control panel and the others utilize Tortoise motors with their internal polarity switching (also actuated from my control panel). I've chosen not to use DCC to actuate any turnouts.
Hi Mr N,
Right, you've marked your track center-line through your point, drilled the feed holes under the lead fishplates and you're not sure about to fix the pointmotors.
If you have some printer photo card, you can try this.
I used an A4 of card and painted it the same basic backgroud colour as our scenery. Using Peco Pointmotors with the centre lugs foldered flat either side of the drive pin(locks it verticeley) I cut a hole in the roadbed and board to alow the motor and its wires to drop in, I wired up the motor, cut the card big enough to cover the hole made, made 4 slots in the card for remaining lugs and 1 to alow for drive-pin movement slid it over the lugs and mounted it and the motor on the point.
I soldered the feeds to the fishplates and laid the point threading the wires as I went, ending with no wire or motor showing from above. All our poinywork is laid this way and the only fault in over 20yrs has been a loose wire( slopy soldering). Hope this helps and we only use Electro- frog points, 3 ways, slips etc.
Be in touch.
pick.